Jerry Jones doesn’t see owners pressuring Snyder to change name

Posted by Josh Alper on June 20, 2014, 11:21 AM EST

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Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wasn’t willing to offer his opinion about whether or not the use of the nickname Redskins is disparaging, but says he understands why the United States Patent and Trademark Office used that as a criteria to strip away trademark protection from the Washington team this week.

And while he thinks that decision, which is being appealed, is a “deterrent” to the continued use of the name, Jones does not believe that the economic consequences of the action would be great enough to force the other NFL owners to pressure Redskins owner Dan Snyder to make a change he has vowed not to make.

“All owners share the economic benefit of our marks,” Jones said, via Jarrett Bell of USA Today. “To the extent that all owners are not protected as much as we were, it implies that there would be a financial consequence. Certainly, they are impacted. To the degree that it would cause another owner to get into the business of the Redskins, I doubt it. I don’t see it being of that consequence economically. I don’t see it as having enough economic consequences to create any inertia. But that’s not to address anything about anybody’s opinion, one way or another.”

Economic pressure and/or lobbying from the NFL and the other owners are going to be the likeliest ways to move Snyder off his position. Jones seems to suggest that the other owners won’t be feeling enough of an economic squeeze from the loss of the marks to push Snyder and they probably won’t until the pressure starts to come from league sponsors threatening to pull their money. There’s been no sign that such pressure is imminent, although that’s not stopping people from pushing owners to take a stand against the Redskins name.

At “Yet” to the end of that sentence. It’s being appealed, and may drag out another 15 years for appeals to be resolved. If Snyder loses his appeals, the other Owners may feel different about pressuring Snyder to keep cash flowing in.

crabcakesfootball says:Jun 20, 2014 11:30 AM

Jerry doesn’t mind letting Snyder flail in the wind as the worst owner in the league.

Hey I just read somewhere that Snyder & co. have registered the name “Bravehearts” as a possible alternative should they end up having to change their name. I hope not because that’s just horrible. Plus naming yourself after a Mel Gibson movie will not help alleviate any racism claims, y’know?

“well maybe but I’m too stubborn to budge at this moment and I would rather wait for a window of opportunity for more leverage to crack open just before I change my mind, and it would be ideal if somebody with some kind of an official shield would do the prying to absolve me of additional liability concerns, and at their expense of course.”

They sure are shoving a lot of microphones in Jerrah’s face of late… Can’t help but wonder if there’s a conspiracy out there to get him to pull a “Sterling”…

mogogo1 says:Jun 20, 2014 12:23 PM

Owners don’t typically mess with other owners’ business unless it is somehow going to impact them. And there’s little chance of this having any impact on anybody but the Redskins. Nobody is going to stop watching the Cowboys or any other team over what Dan Snyder calls his team. Unless that changes, no other owner is going to say boo to Snyder.

This is the reason there is a commissioner, because (at least in theory) the commissioner is supposed to be looking out for the overall good of the game and the league. But, given Goodell has never met an owner he’d stand up to, he’s not going to say anything to Snyder, either.

Government Tyranny is alive and well. We will tell you WHAT to name your business, and if the political winds shift to where your time-honored, previously revered name is now considered a slur by the perpetually offended minority, we will use government agencies to FORCE you to do our bidding. So much for the land of the free.

It was never the founders intent to have an overarching, Machiavellian & Fascist government to tell us how we can run our individual and business lives. The concept of the “Free market” in the country formerly known as the “United” states, is history, along with much of our individual freedoms thanks to the cancer that is, political correctness, which is in and of itself, an obfuscation of the truth, and inherently, a lie.

poshous4life says:Jun 20, 2014 1:34 PM

If a known convicted child rapist, murderer can sit on death row for 20 years surly this can drag out much longer. What a waste of time!!!!

It may seem stunning to some but the owners like Jerry may actually make a stand on principle and not just on money when it comes to this issue where Snyder is being bullied a bit by the government.

granadafan says:Jun 20, 2014 1:45 PM

Of course Jerrah doesn’t want a name change. The name change will cost the owners and NFL money. Lord knows they’re operating on a shoestring budget as it is. At least that’s what the poor multibillionaire owners tell us.

Obama (still can’t use term President.. I’m ashamed and embarrassed by him… and I do not respect him) is absolutely responsible for the socialistic PC antiAmerican turn our country has taken.. and for the environment that lets these libs exert power

Ugh I hate this stupid topic, it’s just BARELY a football topic; but what’s worse are all the conservatards using it to preach their politics, which have NOTHING to do with football. Waving your Obama hate around doesn’t give your opinion any higher quality.

Look you hillbillies, the “R” word is literally in the same class as the “N” word whether y’all like it or not. I’m not overly happy about having to change it either, I’m WAY too lazy to care that much, but it’s still the truth. Get over it, and while you’re at it, quit crying and get over yourselves.

Anyone trying to disguise racism as freedom of speech is a sniveling racist weasel, that’s my opinion and I don’t care what any of you blithering butthats say differently.

Look you hillbillies, the “R” word is literally in the same class as the “N” word whether y’all like it or not. I’m not overly happy about having to change it either, I’m WAY too lazy to care that much, but it’s still the truth. Get over it, and while you’re at it, quit crying and get over yourselves.

Anyone trying to disguise racism as freedom of speech is a sniveling racist weasel, that’s my opinion and I don’t care what any of you blithering butthats say differently.
—————————————————-

Somebody ought to tell the ~70 Indian reservation HS teams in the country using the name Redskins that they are racist weasels.

I went ahead and looked it up and there are actually 50 schools still using the name as of June 18th nationwide. That’s down from 62 in 2013, and more in the process of changing. It’s been a traditional name for a long time, going back to when the word was used much more commonly. So what? Traditions that are racist need to be changed.

I’ll paraphrase myself just for you:

Anyone trying to disguise racism as a tradition is a sniveling racist weasel, that’s my opinion and I don’t care what any of you blithering butthats say differently.

higheriqthanyou says:Jun 20, 2014 9:18 PM

politicallyincorrect says:
Jun 20, 2014 4:25 PM

Obama (still can’t use term President.. I’m ashamed and embarrassed by him… and I do not respect him) is absolutely responsible for the socialistic PC antiAmerican turn our country has taken.. and for the environment that lets these libs exert power

Lol
Hillbillies and squidbillies. Preschool name calling mixed in with why Obama (who has chimed in about the name change) has nothing to do with it.

thesmartestmanever says:Jun 21, 2014 1:15 AM

here’s what you haters don’t get. There is only one franchise in professional football worth more than the Redskins and it’s the Cowboys. The other thirty owners are benefiting more from the Redskins revenue than you think. Daniel Snyder while not the brightest owner is a heck of a business man, and through his marketing of the Redskins has brought along the NFL in tow.
the NFL is a collection of billionaires and billionaires love being billionaires. they won’t stop that cash flow.

thesmartestmanever says:Jun 21, 2014 1:25 AM

@clashpoint. what about the school on the Indian reserve in Red Mesa Arizona with a 100% Indian population of students and staff? The Red Mesa Redskins, they wear the name proudly as it was once meant.

I have a friend of the Shenandoah tribe who oddly enough is a Cowboys fan that swears that the word Redskin was used by her people to proudly separate themselves from the lying white man. and that her grandmother would tell her she was only allowed to marry a Redskin.

madroaddog says:Jun 21, 2014 10:13 AM

Be careful Jerry, they are coming after the Cowboys trademark next. Lets face it everyone is offended by something and in today’s political correctness, no NFL trademark is safe.

They will convive me that what the Patent &Trademark office is doing is right and legitimate the same time they void the trademarks of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the United Negro College Fund. Surely these terms are far more offensive to blacks than Redskins is to Native Americans. After all, a poll of Native Americans showed that more than 75% of them have no issue with the team being named the Redskins.